Reactions
by AwesomeJoshua
Summary: 19 year old genius Tadashi Hamada had committed suicide leaving an extreme imbalance in the lives of his friends. Honey Lemon, Fred, Gogo Wasabi, and Hiro were all devastated and are now finding that lifes most important lesson just can't be taught out of a book. And what is lifes most important lesson you might ask? The answer is simple my friend...learning to cherish it.
1. Sweet as Honey

_AUTHORS NOTE. its currently 12:10 in the afternoon and i've been up all night for like three days in a row trying to finish this thing so hopefully you enjoy the story. yeahhh so everyone keeps writing stories about Tadashi dying in a fire. and I was like, "god thats so boring and unoriginal." sooooooo I made him kill himself. (evil laughter) I had two songs really inspire me for this first chapter here though. "Cough Syrup" by Young the Giant and "The End Of All Things" by Panic! At The Disco. i'd say the first 3/4 of the story are Cough syrup and then the last quarter The End Of All Things. i highly recommend playing the songs while you read this...hah uhm...that is, IF you read it...heh heh...ANYWAYS! on to the story._

DISCLAIMER:  
-I do not own or claim ownership of any intellectual property held by Disney, or any parties/entities associated with Disney  
-I do not own or claim ownership of Young the Giant or Panic! At The Disco or their respective record labels  
-I do however, own this story. chyea bro, i own the FUCK out of this story...bitch.

* * *

_Chapter one_  
_Sweet as Honey_

_life's too short to even care at all..._

she had been drinking again...

she sat slumped over the bar, one arm outstretched used as a pillow. Her hair falling in messy tresses about her with a drink still in her light, drunken slumberful graps.

Jack and coke with a wedge of lemon placed on the brim of the glass.

The ice had melted inside severely diminishing the alcoholic affects and as everyone lost track of time in the atmosphere of the bar and the drinks, all were uncertain of when drunken sleep had taken her, and it was a wonder in itself how long she had been there passed out. it was also a wonder how many people even noticed or cared. The bar was rather busy that night, light chatter filling the air every which way. Pool was being played in the far corner near the juke box, music playing low adding to the ambiance and it looked rather lively, except for the section at the corner of the bar where Honey sat. The bar goers would glance over now and then at her slumped figure and could almost literally see a rain cloud floating above her head. And so they stayed away.

She was a regular there though. Almost every night she could be seen behind the bar pounding down drinks like a man stranded in the desert aching for water. One down, and then one more and another and then another, but no one ever asked. There was no one there to care...at least not the way that he once did.  
They came to know her as Honey. Honey Lemon. They always assumed her name was because she was such a sweet girl. Sweet as honey you could say with a killer look to boot, and every drink she had was always accompanied by a tiny slice of the sour. Sooooooooo thats' not exactly accurate to explain her name, but it was a convenient coincidence. So that's how they came to know her and no one pushed the subject...but did they actually know her..? heh...If only...

_I'm losing my mind...losing my mind...losing control._

The crack of a Q ball breaking the rack on a nearby pool table stirred her from her sleep. Her vision was blurry still from the whiskey, but she slowly rose upright in her chair, the spot on her face she layed on her arm bore a very noticeable red skin indentation. Delicately she placed her other hand on the bar for support. The glass of Jack and Coke was slightly warm still within her grasp. How long had she been out? She looked around the bar and then back at the glass, gazing at it forlornly for a quick moment. She breathed a deep melancholy sigh with a shut of her eyes before slowly, almost cautiously raising the drink to her lips, and in three swift gulps she downed the drink with a sigh and slammed it back down on the bar stirring the bits of ice still left within. The alcohol warming her insides like a hug from BAYMAX...oh...BAYMAX...she could feel the heat begin to pulse in her face and a tear threatened to spill over the brim of her eye as she began to wander the recesses of her mind. Fond memories of Hiro, Wasabi, Gogo, Fred and...especially...him rushed to the surface making her poor heart ache deep inside. She quickly swept the thought aside to keep her composure. She would not cause a scene. Not here. Not even if her life depended. She grimaced pushing the thoughts back below the surface and reached an intoxicated yet delicate hand to the side pulling a cigarette out of her orange purse. A Marlboro Menthol. It hadn't been until recently that she started smoking, but she found solace in the feeling of nicotine rushing through her blood stream though and it numbed the pain, if only for a moment. Placing the end in between her lips lighting the other side with her pink and orange swirled lighter she dragged hard on it. The menthol coating her throat and lungs in a cool breeze. She closed her eyes thoughtfully, inhaling deeply, relishing the sensation and blew out a thick cloud of smoke, her lip gloss leaving a perfect pink lip stain on the end.

The bartender nearby cleaning glasses peered to the side at her, a minor sense of concern about his aged features. But he would never ask...after all, it was none of his business. His glance broke and he focused his attention back to another glass on the bar. His dark old eyes held fast and he paused for a moment putting the glass down. A thoughtful grimace etched it's way upon his face creasing the wrinkles around his mouth and he ran a rugged hand through his thick black hair with a empathetic sigh. He could only imagine what the young lady was going through as he had seen her so many nights before always drinking by herself. and yet it was funny, because she would always pull two stools away from the bar as if she were waiting for someone. he even saw dozens of young men try to talk to the young girl but she always politely waved them off or said she was with someone, but he never saw anyone ever come in to meet her. the only thing he ever saw in the next seat was a black baseball cap which didn't really look like something she'd wear...so he knew that something was wrong. At his age the sad alcoholic sitting alone at the bar was something he'd seen far too many times in his day. but just then-

_**CRASH**_  
_**CRACK**_  
_**CLATTER**_

Startled, the old man shot his attention in the direction of the noise. Not only him but apparently it caught the attention of everyone in the bar. And that's when he realized he couldn't ignore this anymore. Honey Lemon was in a state of drunken shock at what she had done. In the middle of grabbing her things to head home her purse had knocked all the empty glasses over and off the bar. The glass was everywhere and slushed over with ice and alcohol. The bartenders eyes turned stern with a minor look of concern and he placed his hands on his hips leveling her with a gaze, his lips pressed in a firm line.

Honey still in a drunken daze looked from the men at the pool table, to the mess on the floor, to the bartender, back to the floor and then her gaze slowly slid down to look at her feet. She was so embarrassed. Her hands balled into trembling fists at her side and she began to feel the heat pulsing in her face once more. She swallowed hard once relaxing her hands and slowly shed off her purse and yellow jacket and knelt down to begin picking up the broken glass all over the floor, everyones eyes still on her.

one piece...

two pieces...

three pieces more...

She continued picking up the glass and could feel the gazes of all the patrons in the bar easing off her as they went back to their own business. Inwardly she berated herself for being such a drunken clutz and drawing so much attention to herself. But she reasoned it wasn't so bad. It's not like anyone really even cared anyways. yeah...I mean how could they..? Not about her at least. Not about her alcohol and smoking addiction, not about the smeared mascara shadowed on her face by a steady trail of tears throughout every night, not about the glass knicking cuts into her hands with each piece she picked up, and definitely not about the broken shattered heart barely beating in her chest.  
and suddenly she felt she couldn't hold herself together anymore...

she softly sobbed once, almost inaudibly as a large lump caught itself in her throat. Unable to choke it back this time she felt the heat in her face rise once more. Reaching out and picking up another large piece of glass, the blood from the tiny cuts in her hand smudged and smeared it red as she held it loosely in her hands. She looked deeply into the glass, miring her cloudy reflection in it noting the streaks of blood it was awash in. And then, a tear drop slowly escaped from over the brim of her eye, trailing down to the tip of her nose and broke up her reflection in the glass with a soft plip mixing in with the blood. And then fell another, and another, and another and within moments her mascara was running down her cheeks once more as she continued picking up the glass, sobbing quietly to herself. Her face was flushed pink and her vision was blurred behind the tears. God, why was this happening to her? It's as if the world literally has it out for her to make sure she is as miserable as possible. She wouldn't even be here embarrassing herself if the stupid bartender hadn't left those stupid glasses there. Hell, she wouldn't even be here at the bar if her classes at SFIT weren't so fucking unbearable. And even those stupid classes certainly wouldn't be so unbearable if...if...  
she sobbed once more...

...if Tadashi hadn't died. that's right. Tadashi was dead. 19 year old tadashi was found in his room after three days of being absent from class with a bullet hole in his head and his brains blown all over the place. Hiro had struck a business partnership with Alistair Krei to mass produce his Micro Bots and was away for the week. Aunt Cass also had a business deal of her own to open up more cafe's around San Fransokyo and even all the way out to New Yorshima so she was away as well. But Honey Lemon was still nearby and very available.  
It was a wednesday evening when Honey had found him.

she was on her way home from SFIT with the sun low on the horizon streaking the sky with pinks and oranges fading to blues and purples. She stood at the corner of an intersection and took it all in, feeling the warmth of the sun as it bathed her in its final dying rays. And just as always, she looked stunning. You know, in a dorky nerdy kind of way. The light turned green on the crosswalk and she shifted her backpack back high onto her shoulders. It was a little heavier than usual because she had three days worth of homework to bring to Tadashi. That idiot, he probably figured he could just skip school whenever he wanted because he was so damn brilliant. Honey rolled her eyes at the thought and merrily trecked onwards to Tadashi's house. She hadn't seem him in three days because she was so busy with her own chemical experiments. She was in the midst of a breakthrough for the mixture of human hormones to be able to regenerate wounds and hinder ageing at an incredible rate. She was extremely proud of herself, and even though she spent many long nights working which would probably make the average persons life a living hell, she felt her life was perfect. She had it all. The brains. The beauty. A boyfriend who was just as equally brilliant and handsome. She smiled warmly at the thought of seeing her boyfriend again after these long three days. Maybe Tadashi will let her stay with him for the night. Maybe they can cuddle up on the couch and watch a corny science fiction movie together...or...Maybe they can get distracted from the movie and end up making out on the couch again. She blushed at the thought, but smiled once more when she remembered that Hiro and Aunt Cass were gone. And Tadashi was all alone waiting for her. .

It was dark when Honey had reached the cafe. She reached down under the welcome place mat in front of the door for the spare key but accidentally bumped into the door and it swung open with barely any resistance at all. Her brow creased in slight confusion. how odd, as long as she's remembered they always lock the doors at 7pm. And even with Aunt Cass gone the cafe was closed until she came back so it definitely should've been locked. A small pang of discomfort was nagging at Honey on the inside, but she could hear Mochi fiddling around upstairs and was set at ease. The cafe was dark as Honey slipped off her monstrously tall high heels and ambled towards the stairs. She leaned over the banister looking up at the dark staircase that disappeared into blackness.

"Tadashi? I'm here babe!" she said with a bright smile,"But oh you are in so much trouble mister!" her demeanor changing instantly.

She started up the steps.

"Where have you been? you've been absent from the Institute for three whole days! And you havent even seen my latest work!" her lips pouting a bit.

She was at the top of the first staircase now where the cafe turned into the living spaces for the Hamada family. She scanned the living room and was a little creeped out how everything was so...still. There were dishes still in the sink from when she had been here last sunday, and a blanket still messily thrown over the couch from when she and Tadashi had been watching a movie. God this boy was messy, with a huff she continued upward to Hiro and Tadashi's room.

"Well I hope you're well rested, because you have a TON of homework to catch up on."

She was halfway up the stairs when a foul odor suddenly shocked her senses. She pinched her nose between her index finger and thumb and grimaced waving the air in front of her with her other hand.

"Ew Tadashi, do you smell that? It smells like Mochi pooped somewhere. And you should definitely wash those dishes in your sink. They've been there since sunday for crying out loud!"

She was almost at the landing when the idea of cat poop on the floor weighed heavy on her mind and so she stepped onward with a little more caution.

"Okay mister, where are you?" she said quietly to herself. As stern as she tried to sound she was just so happy to be seeing Tadashi again. Three days somehow manages to feel like three years to young lovebirds.

The staircase opened up to show Hiro's section of the room first. His bed pressed to the far wall with his work desk and computer against the wall to the left. Honey set her bag down at the top of the stairs and ventured in slowly gazing over the room. To the right was the sliding divider that split Hiro and Tadashi's room to their own respective spaces. Honey tip toed up to the divider quietly biting her lip in excitement. She drew in a deep breath and slid the door open slightly to peek in. It was dark but she could just barely make out the silhouette of Tadashi sprawled out on his bed. She opened the divider the rest of the way and stepped over the threshold smiling to herself at her lazy boyfriend.

"Of COURSE you'd be asleep you bum, c'mon wake up!" she said crossing her arms.

no response.

"Tadashiiiiiiiiiii..." she whined slouching over and waving her arms cutely like a child.

Still no response.

"TADASHI LOOK! IM NAKED!"

And still nothing. Ahe huffed in annoyance crossing her arms again.

"Geez that one used to get your attention all the time." She muttered quietly to herself starting to feel rather cross with her lethargic boyfriend.

She began to grow impatient with Tadashi. And then, a devious plan hatched in her mind and she started taking off her yellow jacket with a devilish smirk.

"Well fine then. If you won't wake up, 'll just have to wake you up myself." she said with a sly smirk tossing her jacket over her shoulder onto Tadashi's desk.

And with a pounce she jumped onto the bed right on top of Tadashi with a gleeful squeal and lovingly collapsed onto his chest nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck.

But something wasn't right.

"Jesus Tadashi, did you take a nonbenzodiazepine?" In ordinary english that would translate to a chemical compound found in most heavy duty sleeping pills. But her chemistry vernacular couldn't have been any more wrong.

"Tadashi?" Honey began to feel panic lifting her head off of his chest.

"Tadashi are you okay?" she said gently shaking his shoulder, but that's just the thing. Tadashi wasn't okay. In fact he was far from it. And that's when she noticed something.

He was cold.

Not as if he was just outside in the autumn weather cold. No, he was ice cold. She touched his fingers. Cold. She touched up his arms. Cold. His shoulders, his chest, his neck. Cold, cold, cold.

In a panic she sprawled off the bed and bolted back to the wall near the divider where the light switch was located and flipped it on.

And then she screamed.

She screamed again, and then she screamed some more at the grizzly sight before her.

There layed Tadashi on his back, with a gaping hole in his head, and the contents of his brilliant mind were everywhere, soaking his bed sheets, splattered across his walls, hanging from his cieling and even on his window.

And in his limp hand laid a shiny silver revolver with five more bullets left within the chamber.

And she was hysterical. She fell to her knees clutching her face in horror still screaming at the top of her lungs. Her breathe was ragged and heavy as she slowly ambled to Tadashi's bed side taking it all in. Millions of questions racing through her mind. Why? How? When? Tears streaming like waterfalls down her face. Her screaming had reduced down to horrified whimpers and whines as she reached a shaky hand to Tadashi and caressed his face, his eyes blank staring at the cieling.  
Oh Honey Lemon...It wasn't that her boyfriend had "skipped" school and was just being "Lazy"...oh no, not at all...as it turns out, he had been dead since early that morning.

and just then,

Honey Lemon heard two pairs of feet step into Tadashi's room.

"Hey Tadashi we're ba-" Hiro and Aunt Cass poked their heads into the room.

And the horror ride began all over again, Hiro and Aunt Cass's faces were riddled with horror as Aunt Cass ran to the bed side to Tadashi, screaming and crying, cradling a dead Tadashi in her arms, rocking back and forth with grief. Honey Lemon on the other side of Tadashi sobbing as well and running her hand through Tadashi's blood stained hair. Hiro in shock of the whole situation remained silent, still as a statue, his jaw slightly ajar. His wide eyes were scanning laps around the room taking in the amount of blood and meat and for some reason it just couldn't connect. Though there was screaming and his heart was racing it was as if suddenly everything was in slow motion and quiet. Nothing made sense. Tadashi had been just fine when Hiro had left for his business trip last Friday. In fact he had never seen Tadashi happier. Hiro's gaze shifted upwards, just above him was a particularly blood and meat splattered section of the ceiling. A single drop of blood hanging by a partially dried red stalagtite fell from the cieling and landed directly underneath his left eye, running down the length of his face like a tear drop, a red trail left in its wake. He leveled his gaze and saw his reflection in the window and noticed the red streak down his face. He gingerly brought a hand to his cheek smearing the streak across his face slightly and bloodying his knuckles and analyzed it. Blood. Deep red blood. Tadashi's blood. And suddenly it dawned on him. Something clicked in Hiro's head and all the pieces had finally fit together. He stepped out of the room away from the sobbing women and his dead older brother and placed his back against the the wall, slowly sliding down until he was sitting against it, unwilling to behold anymore of the situation at hand. He gulped and shakily pulled out his cell phone dialing the three digit number.

ring ring  
"911 what's your emergency?"  
Hiro looked over his shoulder analyzing the scene before him. Aunt Cass and Honey still bawling over Tadashi. His words were caught behind a lump in his throat.

"My..." He started, barely able to speak, "My brother's...dead..." still unable to believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. The phone slipped out of his grasp and clattered on the ground, the 911 operater still on the line. And it finally began. He sobbed hard once and his lip began to quiver. He covered his mouth with his hand and he sobbed again, tears trickling out. He choked hard on the lump in his throat and the trickle of tears developed into a flood. The tremble in his lip escalated and his entire body shook, his sobs growing uncontrollably. He began to wail woefully into the empty room bringing the heels of his palms to his eyes attempting to stop the flow...it didn't work.

_If i could find a way to see this straight,_  
_I'd run away to some fortune that i should have found, by now..._  
_and so i run now to the things they say can restore me.. restore life the way it should be..._  
_I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down..._

The autopsy was confirmed. Tadashi Hamada had indeed committed suicide. A background check was done on the firearm he had used and the report revealed that he had bought it fifteen blocks away from his house at a gun shop/firing range. The man who sold him the weapon informed the police that the young man had entered the store wearing a black hoodie with the hood up over his black baseball cap right at the crack of dawn. At first the gun shop employee had thought that Tadashi was going to attempt to rob the store, but Tadashi apparently had other plans. The gun shop owner recalled how Tadashi walked up to the counter and had bags under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in months with an extremely vacant stare in his eyes. Tadashi asked for a gun, the tone of his voice was hollow. The gun shop employee told how he was skeptical to sell to Tadashi, but Tadashi had convinced him by throwing eight hundred dollars cash onto the counter. Tadashi pointed above the employees head at the wall behind him where a silver revolver was on display. With the cash right on the counter the employee still seemed slightly skeptical but granted him his request. He packaged up the gun for Tadashi as open carry in San Fransokyo is illegal. He remembered though that Tadashi had another strange look about him. He went from looking vacant to somewhat deranged. A storm brewing behind his eyes. The employee was slightly concerned and then had asked a question that would have confirmed a well informed persons suspicions.

"That's a nice piece, you got any plans for using that?"

Tadashi looked the employee dead in the eye.

"Yeah...I got plans...big...big plans." and he walked out of the store leaving the employee peculiarly unnerved.

Tadashi Hamada. Honey Lemons crush since freshman year in high school. Her lover since senior year and brand new lovers attending college together. But that stupid, selfish fucking idiot...how dare he?! Did he not think of Honey Lemon at all? Or even his family? And the funny thing is Tadashi wouldn't have even been pushed to committing suicide if it weren't for those stupid Doctors and Psychologists who couldn't properly diagnose his depression. They were too wowed by his brilliance and cunning to ever imagine how badly Tadashi was suffering. Perfect little Tadashi. Smart, handsome Tadashi, all smiles and peaches on the outside, yet dying and withering away on the inside. Why couldn't they see it? WHY?! everyone else did, and yet these people with their PhD's with claim of such self worth and who expect accolades of praise can't even do their fucking job. Scum. All of them.

The thought of how a malpractice stole her lover infuriated Honey and she suddenly had a taste for blood. It would have been such an easy fix if a doctor had just asked the deeper question. If they had asked Tadashi if he was actually really okay. If they had asked him about his personal life. About how bitter he was that he was constantly out-shined by his younger brother. About how he always seemed to follow in his younger brothers footsteps of brilliance. About the jealousy he felt for Hiro landing a business deal with Alistair Krei and not him. About how his brother graduated high school at age thirteen. About how a five year distance in age was more realistically like twenty. About how Hiro recieved all of the praise and not him. Oh,but Honey had known all of this all along though. Her face once flushed pink from gushes of tears was now flushed red with rage. Yes indeed she had definitely known. She had always noticed Tadashi suppress his anger and jealousy towards his brother every time he was beaten out for first place at an invention convention. And she would always comfort him, first his demeanor ice cold but eventually warmed up under Honey's tender care, but she would never have imagined the jealousy and anger would fuel Tadashi's sense of insignificance and drive him mad. Just like every other family in the world the Hamada family had some hiccups and minor turmoil and was blindingly far from perfect...But she could never have seen this coming. No one did.

The piece of glass still in Honey's hand slipped out breaking into a bundle of smaller jagged pieces. She was still knelt down, her gaze on the floor as she was lost in her own rageful bitter thoughts. That is, until a pair of shiny black dress shoes stepped into her peripheral view. Honey snapped back to reality and leveled the pair of shoes with a gaze,her face still vivid with the affects of her anger. And then she started scaling her gaze upwards to the pair of black dress pants, past the brown belt, past the white long sleeve dress shirt and black vest until she met the piercing stare of a pair of old wise eyes, the anger contortions of her face retreating bit by bit. The pair of eyes did not have a sense of irritation behind them like Honey had imagined, she could feel it in his gaze...but what was it that she saw though..? She was confused for a brief moment and then it hit her. It wasn't irritation in the bartenders eyes. it wasn't even close. What she saw was pity in the bartenders eyes. Their gazes locking for a brief moment before Honey ashamedly stared back at the mess she had made and stood full height reaching across her body bashfully rubbing her arm. Surprisingly as she stood she noted that the bartender was taller than her. A rarity considering she was so tall herself, especially when she was wearing her heels. Even more surprisingly the bartender had shown up with a broom and sweep bucket, and with a silent stare and a small sigh, he began sweeping up the bits of broken glass. Honeys eyes shot wide with guilt seeing the bartender clean up her mess.

"Oh no! Please sir, hand the broom over. I'll clean up my mess, I'm sooooo so sorry really I had no idea what I was thinking." she said exasperatedly, wringing her hands in anxiety. She continued,  
"Please allow me to, it was all my fault, I should have been more careful I should ha-"

"Jesus Christ kid will you shut up?" the bartender said leveling her with an exhausted gaze. Honey was taken aback. He fixed his gaze back down and continued sweeping.

"Listen kid..." he began, his gruff voice low, "I see you in this damn place almost every single night knockin back them drinks like a fish starvin fer water, and now it's nunna my business-" He sure had that right, "But whatever it is that's eatin ya ain't gonna get any better by sittin here trying to wash it away with alcohol. Believe me kid, i've seen quite a bit in my day, hell i've even sat behind a bar trying to drown my sorrows a few times too, but if anything it only ever made it worse." He glanced sideways at Honey still sweeping up the glass. Honey was quiet.

"y'know...There's no greater danger in the world to your own sanity than the demons swimming about in your own head." he said, meeting her stare and tapping a few times against his temple. He continued sweeping.  
" They nag at ya and make ya do crazy things, and guess what? They absolutely love alcohol. In fact, that's the shit that they love to swim in. heh, I would know." He smiled curtly as if being reminded of a bitter memory, his gaze still focused on the mess on the floor.

"Being a bartender I see it all the damn time. One kid over here might break up with his girlfriend, he starts drinking and suddenly starts bawling his eyes out. One girl over there's puppy might die and the same thing happens. I'm sure you probably already know this, but alcohol is awfully dangerous kid." His tone became serious. Brow creased with concern.

"Not only is it bad for yer health, it brings out the truth in people. The dark truth. And it usually almost always ends in absolute disaster. Now this ain't my first rodeo kid, so please..." he stopped sweeping for a moment leveling her with a gaze, gingerly placing a hand on Honey's shoulder in a comforting gesture, "Put the drink down for a while." He offered a solemn, yet deeply meaningful smile. his tone was soft. She stared blankly attempting to take in the bartenders words.

"Trust me kid, it ain't goin nowhere, and we all know that devils water ain't always so sweet, and sure, you can dip yer feet every once in a while. Just don't dive all the way in and drown yourself alright? I would hate to see on the news something terrible had happened to ya. After all, yer practically my best costumer what with all that Jack Daniels you've been drinking. I had to reorder an entire stock!" The man let out a hearty chuckle at his own insensitive joke. Honey Lemon although did not find it to be quite as funny. She grimaced slightly at the joke, whole heartedly knowing the validity behind it.

"ahhhhhh, bad joke bad joke." the bartender said, slightly appalled at his own warped sense of humor and insensitivity. He continued,

"But really kid. Just take a little break. Go have yerself a good cry, without alcohol. Lord knows you need it. Stay up all night to watch the sunrise sometime. Reminisce on all the good times you had before your problem showed up instead of the bad. Go home and tell your friends and family ya love 'em. Try to Feel love instead of feeling bitter and angry. I know it's hard right now, really I do, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel."  
the bartender now fully facing Honey Lemon gave her a genuine smile, his eyes warm and tender...just like Tadashi's, and just for a moment she could've sworn she saw a glimpse of Tadashi overtake the bartenders being. His eyes tender and so full of love and in a blink it was gone. Although her mind must have suddenly been playing tricks on her, Honey felt a glimmer of hope pierce through the veil of dark cloudy thoughts in her head, and she felt something that she hadn't felt in a while. Relief.  
"I believe in ya kid, you can make it through this...I know ya can."

After hearing the bartenders words of encouragement Honey Lemons tough facade had crumbled and she found herself standing there sobbing again, fighting to maintain her composure and keep herself from bawling her eyes out with a few short hiccups. But it proved to no avail, she collapsed into the bartender rapping him in a bone crushing hug and finally let it all go. she cried ferociously into his shoulder, dampening his dress shirt. And in a monstrous flood everything had come out. all of her anger and rage, her confusion, her despair and sorrow, everything that she had been holding inside had come gushing out of her by the boat load, and even though she was doing what she had never intended to and caused a scene, she didn't care. Not this time. Because finally, there was someone else out there who cared. Someone who legitimately honest to God cared. And suddenly it felt like an enormous weight had to lifted off of Honey's shoulders.  
Slightly startled at first from the spontaneity of the hug, the bartender smiled to himself and softly returned the embrace softly chuckling as well. Honey continued to cry for the next fifteen minutes, but the bartender did not mind at all. With patience and understanding he held her, comforting her, giving her the solace she needed not daring to say a word. As it were, Honey had been drowning in her sea of misery and woe for so long and now finally there was a shore of land she could lay her weary head on. And even though she knew the road ahead would be treacherous, she finally felt she had the strength she needed to go on.

With a few more wet hiccups and sniffles and a deep satisfied sigh, Honey loosened her grip on the bartender, her face damp and streaked from all the tears and makeup she rubbed off onto the bartenders shirt. She gave a soft chuckle to herself taking a step back from him simultaneously wiping away a remaining stray tear. And then she smiled an honest to God, true blue genuine smile. And it was beautiful, her eyes beeming with gratitude. The bartender smiled in return.

"Feel any better?" he said placing a hand on his hip.

Honey dwelled on it thoughtfully for a moment averting her gaze and nodded.

"Yeah...yeah I do. I really do..." She said graciously, lacing her hands behind her back appreciatively and meeting his gaze. And then her smile faltered slightly and her gaze shifted away again slightly confusing the bartender.

"Geez what's wrong with ya now kid?" his brow creasing in mild concern. Honey sighed.

"Nothing it's just..." She paused for a moment dwelling on her words, "No one ever seemed to really care about me before y'know?" she shrugged her shoulders for emphasis offering a timid smile.

" I guess...I guess maybe coming here so often was somewhat of a disguised cry for help. And it was disguised so well that even I didn't know how much I really needed it." She said bringing her gaze back to meet the bartenders.

"And honestly i'm not entirely sure how this whole thing would've panned out if you hadn't stepped in...and really..." a lump began to form in her throat again making her stammer on her words, tears welling in her eyes once more.

"really I...I-I-i'm so grateful to you. i-i owe you my life, and I just-" The bartender held his hand up to her silencing her.

"Stop, don't you dare." he said with a smile.

"You don't owe me anything kid, all I did was give ya a little nudge in the right direction." he said gesturing with his elbow. Honey offered another smile, listening intently.

"You're a good kid, and it's real easy to see. I'm just glad I was able to help. And hey. Life sucks y'know? Everyone knows that, but it don't get any easier when you give yourself more shit to be stressed out about. Besides, no one ever really makes it out alive anyways right?"

He had a valid point, and Honey Lemon averted her gaze once more, nodding in bashful agreeance of the bartenders wise words.

"Yeah...you're right."

"Well no shit, of course i'm right. I might be a little crazy but I ain't stupid!" the bartender shot back and they both chuckled heartily at his callous choice of words. Thoughtful silence grew between them and they realized they were now the only ones left in the bar. The bartender quickly shifted his gaze left, then right analyzing the empty room and then took a look down at his watch.

4:00 AM

He scoffed a bit, "Well would you look at that, jeezow it's already 4 AM. ah, sorry kid but I gotta get to closing down the bar. You should head on home." he said tapping at his watch giving her a its-time-for-bed-young-lady kind of look.

Honey Lemon glanced at her own watch to confirm the time.

"Yeah it is pretty late isn't it? ehhhhhh... yeah I guess I really should get going then." She said reluctantly, not quite ready to face the world outside. Tentatively she picked up her yellow jacket and orange purse and slowly made her way to the exit. The bartender leaning against the bar watching her leave.

"Yer not goin home...are ya?" the bartender asked. A knowing smirk on his face as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one up.

Honey Lemon stopped midway of the room, turned around, and leaned against a support beam facing the bartender.

"ehhhh ...Nah, I think i'm gonna take your advice, it's late but the sun should be coming up soon." her gaze shifted to her foot and she tapped the tip of her shoe against the ground thoughtfully, "I think i'll take a nice walk around town and enjoy the sunrise. Reminisce a little bit maybe." She recited the bartenders advice with a playful smirk.

The bartender smiled, "Thatta girl." he said giving her a thumbs up of approval. Honey Lemon smiled back and motioned back towards the exit. The bartender waved a goodbye and Honey Lemon turned back around and made her way towards the door. The bartender turned the other way himself and began wiping down the bar, his back to Honey Lemon. She stopped for a brief moment, the bartender still busy wiping down the bar. And in a dash, Honey Lemon sprinted back to the bartender wrapping him in one last bone crushing hug smushing her cheek deep in his back, with a big smile almost knocking his cigarette out of his mouth.

"Thank you." she said, and before the bartender could even say anything in return, she was out the door.

San Fransokyo was still dark, street lamps and business banners lighting the streets in a faint glow, stars still glistening high in the sky. Honey Lemon turned up the hood of her jacket and with one last glance at the bar behind her she jammed her hands in her pockets, smiled and took off into the early morning.  
She had been walking for what felt like forever, she checked her watch again for the time.

4:37 AM

She'd been walking for half an hour in what she felt like was no particular direction, wandering the streets of San Fransokyo, reliving fond memories of the past. Over the past thirty minutes she had passed quite a few familiar sights. Fred and Wasabi's houses, SFIT, and even past the dock yard, and now she was trecking up a steep hill of a sidewalk. The sky was beginning to shade from black to dark blue indicating the sun was starting to rise, and then it hit her. This area had seemed awfully familiar. she was so lost in thought that her feet had subconsciously started moving her towards a very special destination. And so she trekked on.

4:53 AM

The sky now slightly lighter than before was glistening still with twinkling stars and Honey Lemon moved as a dark silhouette against the horizon. She had made her way up a few more hills and was now on a concrete pathway leading to a steel gate. Above the gate in Black steel letters read "San Fransokyo Grace Cemetery", and luckily enough for her it was open. She slid through the gate quietly and stopped at the threshold, scanning over the dozens and dozens of graves that sat high on the hill top. Fittingly it was the highest point in all of San Fransokyo. The city deemed it fitting to honor their dead by placing them as high up as possible, to give the feeling of being so close to heaven. Honey pressed on and veered through a couple headstones onto a pathway that led to the very tip of the hill. it was a bit of hike but finally she made it up and from there...wow... at the top of the hill over looking a cliff she could see all of San Fransokyo all the way across the city and out to the ocean, the sun just now barely peeking over the horizon, painting the sky and clouds with streaks of pinks and blues, oranges and reds. she soaked it in for a moment and a little spark of excitement erupted in her knowing how much more explosive the sunrise was going to be in just a few minutes. She turned around slowly, a gentle breeze swaying through her blonde hair and there it was. the one thing she was dying to see, yet all this time was much too afraid of. She took a deep breath in and walked up kneeling down near a very new headstone, not even a month old. she could feel herself begin to tremble slightly, but she steeled herself and gingerly traced her fingers down the headstone, her gaze deep immersed in the writing on it.

"In loving memory of Tadashi Hamada, friend, brother, and brilliant genius. 2080-2099. Rest in Peace."

Honey felt a familiar heat rise in her face, a single tear trailing down her cheek and down to her chin, hanging in a watery stalagmite catching the rising rays of the sun before falling down onto Tadashi's grave. but she smiled.

"Hey you. long time no see." she could feel the lump begin to form in her throat again but she choked it down.

"I uh...it's been really hard not having you around. SFIT's just not the same anymore you know? it just feels like such a large part of our little family is missing now...but you know what? I realized something..." She paused for a moment, another tear cascading down her face.

"You never really left, and i finally understand now, you've been here with me this whole time..." She breathed in deep trying to steel herself. the lump in her throat was putting up a fight and she was battling to keep her compsure.

"I wish it could've been different...God i wish so badly..." Her voice broke a bit. her composure was standing on its last legs.

"But i just..." she wiped at her nose with her sleeve.

"I just wish i could have told you how much i loved you before you...you know..." She averted her gaze behind her to the sunrise now newly fresh in the sky. the entire horizon awash in magnificent colors. she turned back to the headstone.

"But it's okay...I think you know. I think you always knew, even though we never said it you were always smart enough to know my feelings about you, so then now, let me be the first to say it." She smiled a sad watery smile, leaned forward and placed a wet fragile kiss on Tadashi's headstone.

"I love you Tadashi Hamada. Always and forever." Finally, the words she had so long ached to say but never got the chance to were finally out there for the world to know. or at least in that moment between them.

She scooted over from kneeling by the headstone to sitting directly next to it so that she could continue watching the sunset, a content smile on her face. and then, oh! she almost forgot!

Honey reached hastily into her orange purse and pulled out two extremely significant items. One a black baseball cap, another a framed picture of Tadashi with his tender smile and warm eyes. she gently placed the baseball hat and the picture right against the tombstone in just the right way until she was satisfied with her handywork. sighing deeply to herself she looked back over the horizon and leaned her head on the tombstone admiring the sunrise. And in that moment, she felt Tadashi again. Maybe not physically but...she felt him, and she could tell he could feel her too. and then something strange occurred. A gentle breeze blew across the cemetery rustling the leaves and branches in the trees and swept across Honey, blowing across her ear and blowing her hair to the east, the blonde tresses catching the sunlight. and in all the combined noises of nature Honey could almost swear she heard "I love you too Honey." and just as soon as it appeared, it vanished.  
She didn't think about it too hard though and smiled contently to herself as the sunrise rose higher and higher, igniting the sky in even more magnificent arrangements of color and finally, Honey Lemon's world felt at peace. She and Tadashi sat quietly together for the remainder of the sunrise enjoying each others company, and even though she knew the road to healing would be long and treacherous, she finally felt for once that maybe...just maybe...everything was going to be okay.

_Whether near or far...I am always yours._  
_Any change in time...we are young again._

_Lay us down...we're in love_  
_Lay us down...we're in love_

_In these coming years, many things will change..._  
_But the way I feel will remain the same..._

_Lay us down...we're in love_  
_Lay us down...we're in love._

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_Ugh i'm exhausted. so yeah, its been like eight years since the last time i actually sat down to write a story buuuuuuut i dunno, something just kinda motivated me to sit down and write again and i gotta admit it feels pretty great. So hopefully i'll be keeping this thing going for a little while, i have rough drafts for each of the characters connected to Tadashi so stick around! Leave a review! i'd love to hear feedback and ideas. until next time, Corporal Douglas signing off.  
_


	2. A Hiro's Tale

Tadaaaaa! here it is! my new chapter. I'm sorry for the confusion when I first uploaded the chapter, i'm still trying to figure out how fanfiction works since I haven't written a story in like 8 years. Especially on top of being in the military i'm surprised i was even able to get another one out this fast...oh well. Enjoy!

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_Chapter 2  
A Hiro's tale Pt 1_

He sat on the ledge of the dock, his legs dangling a few feet above the water, his thousand yard stare shooting out to the dark empty ocean that lay before him. It was plain to see there was a storm hidden behind his eyes raging inside him almost literally tearing him apart. It would be easy to tell if there was anyone around to see, but as it were, there was no one around for miles. Not at this hour at least. Hiro sluggishly brought up his wrist, a slight grimace etched across his face accentuating the heavy bags underneath his eyes.

4AM

He layed his wrist back down and breathed a deep heavy sigh. The dock workers had finished their shift hours ago and all was silent and still, the sound of the ocean waves lapping softly against the concrete support beams of the main dock. Hiro had been coming here lately deep into the night when it was deserted, and he was grateful for it. Where he had no one around to bother him. Where it was just him and his thoughts. Where it was just him and the vast ocean opening up to gargantuan blackness before him. No one near to pester him and constantly ask the same old question over and over again.

"Are you okay..?"

Hah, what a joke. He grimaced at the thought of hearing that fucking question one more time. Did it honestly look like he would be okay..? His brother had committed suicide. He had taken his own life. On purpose. Not even as if some rogue truck driver had plowed him over on accident, but on purpose! That Tadashi had the whole hearted intent to destroy himself...and Hiro was to blame...

His grimace amplified, his teeth gritting together, the storm inside him growing more savage by the minute. You see...In Hiro's mind, If it weren't for Hiro and his brilliant young mind his brother would still be here. Tadashi would be the one to recieve all the glory and praise, and Hiro would look up to him with such admiration and pride at his brilliant older brothers achievements...Hiro would be the one struggling to catch up. Hiro would be the one left to second place inventions, but no. Hiro in a mimicking fashion did everything he could to emulate his brother, taking all of the positive qualities and setting them about himself. And so it would be eventually that the student would surpass the master. And the master would end up hating the student. And Tadashi's burning spite towards Hiro would only drive them further and further apart.

Hiro's hands balled into fists, slightly trembling, the raging storm inside slowly trickling out. And yet, though he thought everything he was doing would make Tadashi proud, he now only blamed himself for Tadashi's ultime demise, and the guilt he felt was almost literally eating him alive. It was beginning to feel as if Tadashi hadn't killed himself at all. It was more as if Hiro had been the one brandishing the gun to Tadashi's head, landing the final fatal blow, putting Tadashi out. A candle so brilliantly ablaze with vigor with so much time left to burn, put out prematurely. And without a second thought at all, Hiro would continue to blame himself. Wasabi, Fred, Aunt Cass, and Gogo attempted to reassure Hiro that none of this was his fault, and yet while he stared emptily into their eyes, he could read behind their facades. They all thought it was his fault...even Honey Lemon...and yet at least she was the most honest of the bunch, her harsh words ringing loud in his ears.

"He didn't kill himself Hiro...you did..."

Ever since the funeral he hadn't talked to any of them. Even if he'd see them out and about he would avoid them all like the plague. The mass amounts of phone calls and text messages, emails, even gifts sent to his home were all placed in their respective trash receptacles. What did they think they were doing..? What was the point in all of that garbage when they all pictured Hiro as a murderer?

Hiro sat there brooding, his fists clenching the fabric of his jeans, trembling almost uncontrollably. He grit his teeth almost hard enough to crack them apart as his anger was spiking. And yet Hiro was just as equally confused as to why he was angry. A question constantly running through his mind.

"why...why...why..! why! WHY!"

Hiro just could not understand why Tadashi had done it. And his brilliant mind always able to find answer to questions was ripping itself apart attempting to find reason in the situation at hand. All of Hiro's answers directed straight back to himself, and anger had begun to subside to agony. Anguish...and finally to grief and woe.

His shaking maintained and as he continued to clench the fabric of his jeans he shut his eyes tight, his face contorting in emotional agony. Breath was slowly leaking out of him in little chokes as he tried to hold back the flood feeling like he was going to implode on himself. His temples were throbbing. Questions without answers swarming around in his head, memories swirling around all the same. A cyclone of emotion thundering inside aching to break free. And in a rush...everything came flooding out and Hiro was unable to bear the weight of his guilt anymore...

And he screamed. His voice like the loudest of thunder roaring across the empty night into the blackness of the ocean before him. He screamed long, hard, until he was red in the face. Tears of anguish, tears of woe, tears of grief, tears of agony all flooding out of his eyes still shut tight, streaming down his pubescent face. And it was a sad sight to behold. One could barely imagine the heartache the poor boy had felt as he screamed his heart out, aching...yearning...calling for an older brother who would not come to his aid...Not this time.

After quite some time his rage and pain subsided to numbness, the storm inside him broken and distant now leaving Hiro with nothing but the battered remains of his inner self, his thoughts drifting in and out like the tide of the ocean before sighed emptily and wiped a sleeve against his wet, bloodshot eyes sniffling a bit, still pondering the depths of his mind. And it finally dawned on him just how alone he was...No friends...No mother...No father...

He gulped hard...

No brother...

He wrapped his arms around himself in a feeble self hug. The reality of his predicament was becoming all too apparent. Sure he had Aunt Cass but she was just as stricken with grief as Hiro was so how could he possibly find any comfort or solace in her? Especially considering that she had been drinking so much lately, just barely able to run the cafe these days. And considering all of these things, Hiro felt so much smaller and insignificant in this big big world, And he was sad. So gut wrenchingly sad. And he felt like there was nothing at all he could do, after all he was only fourteen and his life was in shambles, past the point of repair. He looked back out to the ocean, beholding the massive blackness before him and felt an emotional chord was struck...Maybe he knew where to find his solace after all. If perhaps maybe...just maybe the darkness calling him...cooing and coercing him to come to it could be his ultimate relief. If he just hopped off the dock and swam out as far as he could and just...disappeared.

"How lovely that would be" he thought to himself. "If I could just...disappear..."

He smiled coyly at the thought of it, where he would just disappear into the water and be gone. Erased off the face of the planet just like that. And this darkness before him was just the ticket he needed. And who knows what was on the other side of that darkness. Maybe Tadashi would be there.

Hiro's eyes lit up slightly at the thought of that and he stood up . And maybe not even just Tadashi, but perhaps their mom and dad would be there too. Hiro looked behind him at the rest of the dock for anybody that might bare witness to what he was about to do. A gentle breeze blew rolling an empty plastic bag along, other than that there was nothing. He turned back around, an almost maniacal shine to his eyes. He slowly began to shed his red jacket off of his shoulders and was somewhat hypnotized as his gaze searched through the blackness of the night, as if he could see the silhouettes of his family in the darkness. Yes. He knew what he had to do. He couldn't bare to be alone anymore, not in this world...not in this life. But it was okay, because he was going to be reunited with his family and everything was going to be back to normal. His mind was crumbling to mush at the thought of the happiness he was going to feel in just moments. He shed off his shirt next, and his shoes, feeling more and more excited at being with his family...

He had lost it...fully and completely his brain was ravaged by delusions and hallucinations of a better life that he would never have again in reality...and so he jumped in. Sinking slightly at first he stroked to break the surface of the water and began paddling out almost psychotically, his body renewed with a wave of vigor. His strokes came out fast and hard propelling him further and further from land towards the colossal blackness ahead. All the negative thoughts he had before were cleansed of him, the cool water enveloped him and wiped his mind like a dry erase board...and he felt happiness. He stopped paddling now out of breath and treaded the dark water, his tiny muscles surging with roaring waves of blood with each pump of his jubliant heart. He smiled and floated on his back staring up at the stars above dock now far behind him, he sighed a deep sigh attempting to catch his breath and beheld the sight. The smile on his face growing slightly wider, the white baring slightly enough to see the gap between his two front teeth. He sighed contently to himself as he floated in the gentle caress of the ocean and scanned the stars above him with vindication. A memory occured to Hiro of when he and Tadashi were both just children and he closed his eyes relishing the nostalgia.

_Tadashi Hamada was nine years old and hiro was four, one year now after their parents had perished in a terrible car crash. They were playing in their room back at Aunt Cass's cafe._

_Hiro stood at the foot of his bed in his pajamas wearing a red bedsheet around his neck as a cape, his chest puffed out and his fists on his hips in a superhero like fashion. He sang a gaudy childish fanfare as he jumped off of the bed and ran around the room pretending to fly. Tadashi sat on his bed fiddling with his broken toy train ignoring the young "superhero"_

_Hiro continued running around the room, bouncing from wall to wall with action figures in his hands pretending to save them from burning buildings and muggings in back alleys._

_"Stop there you criminal!" He said enthusiastically pointing at a teddy bear with a toy gun glued to it's hand brandished at a barbie doll._

_"Oh no! Not Super Lad, the incredibly smart and handsome young superhero wonder!" Hiro said narrating the teddy bear. Tadashi rolled his eyes at this._

_"Oh yes, it's me! And you forgot to mention..." Hiro said putting up his dukes and bouncing on his toes like a character from Street Fighter, "-Deadly" Hiro smirked devilishly at the teddy bear._

_Hiro narrated evil laughter, "Well you are too late Super Lad! Now back away or Barbie gets it!"_

_"Noooo! Please save me Super Lad!" Hiro narrated for Barbie raising his pitch in voice terribly, almost embarassingly._

_"Not if I can help it!" And in a rush, Hiro bounded for the teddy bear and punted it across the room sending it flying right into Tadashi's work station sending pieces of his toy train everywhere._

_"And once again the day is saved! All thanks to Super Lad!" Hiro struck a super hero pose once more. Tadashi now more irritated than before grabbed the teddy bear off of his work desk and walked it towards Hiro, Hiro was still living in his imagination._

_"Ahem" Tadashi said snapping Hiro back to reality as he brandished the teddy bear in his hand. Hiro smiled coyly and nervously began rubbing at the back of his head._

_"Oopsy, sorry Tadashi." he said innocently._

_At this, Tadashi couldn't stand being angry at his adorable little brother and he rolled his eyes, changing his demeanor. He held the teddy bear up to his face and took control of the its arm, brandishing the toy gun towards Hiro._

_"You haven't seen the last of me yet Super Lad! I've come here to take care of you myself!" Tadashi said narrating for the teddy bea, peaking his head from behind it with playful fire in his eyes. Hiro's eyes shot wide in surprise, and then he smiled gingerly realizing Tadashi wasn't upset with him. Surprise subsided to a challenging glare and smirk as they melted back into their imaginations._

_"You can try you evil..! uh-" Hiro realized he never gave the teddy bear a villain name."-bad guy! But justice shall prevail this day!" And so they spent the rest of the morning jumping off of beds, saving damsels in distress and putting the bad guys in jail and all was well in the Hamada household._

Hiro smiled fondly at the memory, still floating gently amidst the calm waves of the ocean. He opened his eyes and could see the sun just barely beginning to break over the horizon, the black sky now a dark shade of blue. And It felt rather fitting. In the glorious break of a new day, Hiro was going to have his family back and he relished in the thought. He steeled himself one final time and took one deep breath in, and pushed himself beneath the surface of the water and began to sink, the light from the surface drifting further and further away. As he sank through the water his eyes fluttered as his air supply was running low. In genuine peace and tranquility he smiled to himself knowing now that he was free. Free from all the pain of this cruel and wretched world. Free from the lies. Free from everything, and as he continued sinking his body relaxed, asphyxiation beginning to take hold and finally he was still, one final thought crossing his mind.

"I'm coming Tadashi."

And he closed his eyes for the last time.

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(GASP) OH NO HIRO! hah god there is something wrong with me, but don't fret. there is a lot more to be added to this. things will get better, i promise. oh btw, Sorry Delta General 42 for the confusion. it won't happen again lol. but to all the others, please leave a review, tell me what you like, what you don't like, what your favorite color is. Geez tell me anything really. i'm really trying to work on my craft, sooooo yeah. until next time friends, Corporal Douglas over and out


	3. A Hiro's Tale Pt 2

Hello again everyone! A little personal exploration here for our beloved Hiro. Enjoy! Leave a review!

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**_A Hiro's Tale Pt 2_**

As Hiro sank deeper and deeper into the ocean all his inhibitions had left him and he was at peace. He felt himself slipping...further...further...deeper...and suddenly...there was nothing. His conscience was empty and there was nothing but empty blackness. He could feel his presence still there and yet there was no mind of control to any of his extremities, only darkness. Massive, open, infinite darkness...Where was he..? Was he...dead? Was he a ghost..? What was this place he was in..? And piece by piece in the recesses of his mind his body composed itself within the blackness and he was whole, simply drifting along in the dark. His thoughts echoed loudly, ringing like church bells as they spiraled inside him, yet he did not fear. In his mind, all was right and the peace he felt was the serenity he'd been longing for all this time. And so he continued to drift, replaying fond memories in his head as he went along.

It had felt like an eternity. He had no concept of time or distance in this place. He had no concept of anything. The laws of physics and the boundaries of reality seemed to not apply here and further along he drifted, feeling as if the silence was blaring loudly in his ears. He was beginning to grow weary of the solitude, he needed something else...anything else...he needed...

Tadashi.

Oh yeah, that's right. That's what he had jumped into the ocean for in this first place wasn't it..? He reached an arm out into the blackness and pulled back in a swimming motion in no particular direction. As if moving towards anywhere would pull him closer to his destination, whatever it may be. And then all of a sudden there was something in the blackness. Hiro squinted at it trying to get a better glimpse. It was miniscule, microscopic almost but it was there. A tiny little speck of white. As small as it was it contrasted in volumes compared to the blackness all around like a single star in the night sky. He swam to it, pulling in the nothingness to get closer to it. He wanted it, hungered for it, he yearned for it. It was coming closer and closer, opening up larger and larger and as it grew, Hiro began to make out shapes within the opening of light now the size of a manhole. He saw street signs and cars and...and...Aunt Cass's Cafe! He stroked towards it, excitement pumping his veins driving his muscles onward. He breached the opening and stepped both feet firmly down. Solid concrete.  
"Thank God..." Hiro thought to himself.

It was exhilirating, everything was just like it was before. The trolly was there stopped at a road crossing, the street light posts, cars lining the street, but...something wasn't right. Hiro looked around and normally this district of San Fransokyo was bustling, people here, there and everywhere but...there wasn't a soul in sight. Hiro looked behind him only to see the sidewalk leading the opposite direction, the breach of blackness he had entered through had mysteriously vanished.

"What in the hell was going on..?"

He looked in all directions trying to gain a footing of the situation and began walking, his eyes on everything but the road in front of him. He walked past Aunt Cass's cafe and continued up the road to the next street to find it was just as empty as the last. He set himself at a jog to check the next road. Empty. And the next, empty. Same as the one after that. And after that. His jog simmered to a walk and he was beginning to get frustrated, his brow creased in confusion and mild annoyance. Where was everybody? Where were all the chirping birds? Where were all the noises? Where was his family?...

Where was Tadashi..?

Just as that thought occured to him Hiro had turned a street corner and bumped into something...or more like...someone.

"oof. What the..?" He said recoiling back from the collision. His gaze was down towards the concrete as he collected himself and he realized there was a pair of shoes in his vision. Shoes other than his own. He rose his gaze upwards to find a very familiar person looking at him almost knowingly with a smug grin, hands placed firmly on his hips. Hiro's eyes grew wide in astonishment. There before him stood Tadashi.

"Well look who decided to show up, what's going on bone head?" Tadashi said in a smug older brother sort of way. Hiro, at a loss for words stood still in absolute shock. what..? how..? when..? So many questions began rocketing through Hiro's head and yet the shock wouldn't let him compose any of those thoughts together, and he sat there for a moment. His mouth slightly agape.

"Well aren't you gonna say anything?" Tadashi said peering towards Hiro, arching his eyebrow, dismissively waving a hand for emphasis. Hiro gulped still at a loss for words. He was there. Tadashi was actually there. It wasn't in his imagination, Hiro's longed for older brother was now actually just an arms distance away. Hiro still brittled by shock gingerly reached his hand out and felt Tadashi's arm, the fabric of his sport jacket smooth underneath Hiro's fingertips. He brought his other arm and grasped a handful of Tadashi's jacket. He felt it. it was definitely not his imagination. He looked up at Tadashi, reality finally settling in. A familiar lump grew inside Hiro's throat and heat began to rise in his face as tears slowly welled up in his eyes. Tadashi smiled comfortingly at his pitiful looking younger brother and wrapped him inside his arms. Hiro released his grip on Tadashi and wrapped his arms around him as well, burying his face into Tadashi's chest shutting his eyes tightly, the tears leaking out and streaking down his face. Tadashi couldn't help himself, he chuckled a bit to himself and gave Hiro a comforting squeeze. The storm inside Hiro was subsiding and in the wreckage all that remained was an abandoned young and innocent child, and in this moment, there was finally a beam up hope parting through the rolling clouds overhead. Hiro bawled.

Hiro's crying began to subside, his emotional slate wiped clean and he pulled away from Tadashi wiping at his eyes and nose with the sleeve of his jacket. Tadashi resigned his hands inside his pockets and rocked on his heels.

"Feel better?" Tadashi asked with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

Hiro was unsure. He sniffled hard and forlornly cast his gaze to the side. That simple question had given rise to more questions in Hiro's head than he cared to think about. Did he really feel better? No. Probably not. His lips pursed slightly.

"Am I...-" Hiro paused momentarily thinking about the question he wanted to ask.

"...Dead..?"

Tadashi face fell slightly in a knowing, somewhat doomly manner. He looked away and rubbed at the back of his neck unsure of how to respond.

"I mean uh...yes..? No. Well maybe...Sort of. It's difficult to explain."

"So then what is this? Why are we here? Where is everyone?" Hiro said whipping his head around worriedly. "

The last thing I remember was..-" And then it all came rushing back in a massive flood. All of Hiro's previous actions up to this point were so vivid in his mind...He as well had attempted to commit suicide. His face distorted in shame.

"I...I tried to...to...-"

"-Kill yourself" Tadashi interjected.

Hiro snapped his attention back to Tadashi slightly shocked. He knew. He bowed his head down once more in shame.

"I know what you did Hiro, or better yet, what you tried to do. That is exactly the reason why I'm here now."

Hiro looked back at Tadashi somewhat puzzled.

"There's uh...something I want to show you." Tadashi said removing his hands from his pockets, a minor hesitance about his features. He had Hiro's undivided attention. He raised his hands painstakingly slowly, nervously trembling slightly and he himself wasn't so sure if his decision was for the best. He brought his hands to his head and grasped his hat. Pausing for a moment he gulped hard tilting his chin to his chest. He pursed his lips firmly, the brim of his hat covering his eyes. Within his own mind he still had multiple doubts about this. Hiro continued to watch, puzzled, and slowly, just as Tadashi removed his hat, Hiro's eyes equally grew wide in shock and terror. Tadashi brought his hands back down to his sides and turned his uncapped head slightly. And there it was, plain as day. Hiro recalled the day Tadashi had taken his own life and there, through Tadashi's head was a hole. A bullet hole, yet not as messy as Hiro had remembered it. In fact, it was clean. Smooth, as if he had been looking through the lense of a telescope. Hiro gaped at Tadashi, gibberish and stutters squeaking out of him.

"Heh...yeah, it doesn't look as bad now huh?" Tadashi started, offering a timid smile. He drew in a deep breath and blew it out.

"Listen Hiro...I'm not proud of what I did, and I am all too aware of the damage it has caused you." He paused momentarily to collect his thoughts. Hiro remained silent. Not like he could speak even if he wanted to.

"I had problems Hiro...I was falling behind at the Institute and you were just...you just kept succeeding and I couldn't help but let the jealousy and anger take over me. It was so...frustrating..." Tadashi looked crestfallen, Hiro just as equally so. Hiro had never known of Tadashi's bitterness towards him and his success. In Hiro's mind all he was doing was trying his hardest to emulate his own personal hero. In Tadashi's mind Hiro was taking greater strides than Tadashi ever could imagine and was butting him out of the lime light.

"I don't know if you knew but...once my grades started dropping, and my inventions were becoming less and less notable...-" Tadashi gulped, "I started using drugs...Fred had offered me some heroine...I was hooked." Tadashi broke eye contact with Hiro and looked away in shame, the bullet hole in Tadashi's head gleaming in Hiro's sight. Hiro seemed rather unshaken by this. If anything, it actually made sense, Hiro knew that in Tadashi's proper state of mind he would never think to do some as drastic and extreme as he did. Tadashi continued.

"And just to keep myself from me own impudentiality...I had to stay high...and then on the day that we had heard of your breakthrough and blooming partnership with Alistair Krei I just...I just lost it." Tadashi's guilted face bore a tear streak of shame. Hiro continued to watch in silence, the thoughts in his head brewing like an aggravated bee hive.

"Hiro...I can't ever possibly attempt to beg for your forgiveness knowing that I had taken my life. It was a selfish and stupid decision...but...the least I can do is try to give you back yours." Tadashi mustered the strength enough to look Hiro back in his eyes, determination set about him. Hiro looked back somewhat puzzled again.

"Hiro...whether or not you know it, I've been watching you. I've been watching over everyone actually...and what i've seen isn't pretty..." Tadashi's voice breaking slightly over his own guilty conscience.

"Honey Lemon has become an alcoholic...Gogo is on a one way road to oblivion...Fred is even more apathetic than ever...Wasabi is withering away...Hiro...all of my friends are drowning." Figuratively speaking, not literally like Hiro was.

"Hiro I cannot stand idly by and let you do this to yourself, which as I said, is why I am here now." Tadashi stepped toward Hiro. He smiled gleamingly at Hiro and gently set his hat atop Hiro's head, causing his hair to pool out in mulitple directions. He placed a hand on Hiro's shoulder and was silent for a short moment, studying the depths of Hiro's face. For all they both knew it just may have been the last time they would ever see eachother so closely.

"Hiro..." a tear forming in the wells of Tadashi's eyes.

"As much as i'd love to see you here with me...They need you. The whole world needs you Hiro...our friends need you. They need you. They need...a hero." Tadashi said in reference to Hiro's name. Tadashi wrapped his arms around Hiro tightly, relishing the feeling of his younger brother in his grasp. Tadashi would regret his decision for the rest of eternity knowing that he would never get the chance to hold Hiro this way again, but he felt a certain pride in himself knowing that he would give Hiro the opportunity to set things straight on his behalf.

Hiro's venture throughout all of this was nothing short of mind boggling. Was he dead? Was he alive? Did he even exist at all. This current conscience of perception resided in a plane of concept his genius mind simply could not comprehend, and all he knew was that his older brother, standing just there before him, did indeed love him after all. With one final confirming squeeze Tadashi released his grip on Hiro and held him by the shoulders at arms distance, a proud smile blazing on his face.

Hiro just as equally smiled back knowingly, all the pieces of this ordeal finally fitting into place. Hiro understood Tadashi and his decision, although he would never agree with his choice, Hiro was now more than ever confident in his older brother. He felt comfort in the fact that even though they were apart, Tadashi would always be there watching over him.

"I love you Hiro, and don't you ever doubt that. Don't you ever forget it either." Tadashi said, his eyes watering more now.

"Whenever you need me, i'll be there. I promise." He pulled Hiro in for one last hug. Hiro reciprocated.

"I know you will big bro..." Hiro said tearing up as well. This was it. Hiro knew it was.

With a sigh they parted eachothers grasp with smiles. Tadashi's heart felt like it was caving in, but if was for the better. It was now time to send Hiro on his way. He rubbed his hands together fiercely, friction building up and heat rising. Hiro looked onward, unsure of what Tadashi was doing. Tadashi deeply sighed, bringing his rubbing hands up to his mouth and breathed through them. It looked like some sort of ancient buddhist meditation movement, and just as suddenly as he started, he stopped. He closed his eyes deeply in concentration.

"Close your eyes Hiro." Hiro did as he was told.

"And don't open them until you hear my voice again okay?" Tadashi said sternly.

Hiro remained unsure of all of this but did not ask questions.

"Okay." Hiro said obediently.

Tadashi brought one of his hands away from his mouth and balled it into a fist and brought it just inches away from Hiro's forehead.

"You ready?" Tadashi asked, his heart slightly breaking in his chest.

Hiro was still unsure, what was going to happen?

"Yeah...I think so."

And with that, Tadashi placed the tip of his index finger behind his thumb, building force, and flicked Hiro right on his forehead. In any ordinary reality that would have merely been a mean trick an older brother would play on his younger sibling. Here in this plane the flick had sent Hiro rocketing backwards. He was flying at extroardinary speeds, the city surroundings blurring as he sped by. Street signs, roads and cars and buildings all melted together around Hiro as he flew, his heart and lungs sinking into his stomach as if he were on a roller coaster, and suddenly once more, a plane of blackness took over the city scape surroundings and San Franksokyo was shrinking to a speck of light in the darkness just as Hiro saw when he had once came. Just as it was before...everything was silent.

Hiro sat there in the darkness once more remembering Tadashi's orders but something was different this time. He was floating, but he felt as if something was wrapped around him, and he could barely tell but he heard something. It was a voice, it was faint, but it was there as if it were being muffled underneath a mountain of pillows.

"op...yo...eyes" There it was again, closer this time. He felt now as if the thing wrapped around him was pulling him, upward.

"come on Hiro! Open your eyes." And it was clear this time. Hiro slightly opened one eye and just as quickly shut it. From deep blackness, suddenly in his sight were bright lights, all flashing in a palette of colors around him. Reds. Blues. Bright whites all circling around him as he felt himself still being pulled upward.

"He opened his eye! I saw it! Bring the heart monitor and the saline! We can't lose him!"

"What's going on..?" Hiro asked himself mentally, the grip around his body no longer pulling him upward but now was replaced by the feeling of multiple hands holding him steady.

"UGH! come on Hiro don't you die on me goddamnit. Somebody bring me the respirator! Breathe goddamn you Hiro. Breathe!?" It sounded like Tadashi. Hiro recalled Tadashi's instructions and opened his eyes once more, slightly, but long enough to analyze his surroundings. It was all blurry caught in speeding rushes and flashes of the lights surrounding him. He felt something covering his mouth and nose and forcing his respiration, A voice sounded amidst the chaos and Hiro saw a flash of blonde hair.

"His eyes are open! He's alive! He's alive! Quick get him inside!" The voice was breaking in excitement and Hiro could almost swear the owner of the voice was crying.

"He's alive...Thank you God...Thank you."

The voice melted away as Hiro felt himself getting lifted by what felt like hundreds of hands underneath him and placed on a soft landing. The owner of the voice watched as his team of medical experts rushed the young boy inside for further resuscitation and he sighed deeply to himself and felt relief. The effort of pulling Hiro from the depths of the ocean and emergency evacuating him by helicopter weighed heavy on his shoulder. It was literally a race against time, Hiro's vitals had been diminishing by the second. But he was alive. Goddamnit, he was alive.

"Master Fred, you've done well to coordinate the rescue efforts. What warned you of such a calamity good sir?" Heathcliff, Fred's butler, stood near Fred's side as he collapsed onto a bench nearby.

Fred looked up wearily at Heathcliffe with a bright smile.

"Well Heathcliffe...A really good friend told me." Heathcliffe was baffled but said nothing. Fred broke eye contact with Heathcliff and looked from the bench over the balcony of his estate to the sea, the moon still shining high in the sky. A knowing smile gracing his lips. He mentally thanked Tadashi.

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Little twist there in the end there huh? I was fading fast with inspiration for this one so I got a little desperate lol. please don't hate me.

I'm not quite so proud of this one either considering the amount of time it took me to update this, but hey please, leave a review. I'm really trying to get a better grip on my writing. UGH! Writing is sooooooo difficult. But until next time! Leave a review and i'll show back the love! see you guys soon! i'll update again really soon, i promise. Corporal Douglas over and out.


	4. A Hiro's Tale pt3

Whew, okay, another update here. I'm trying to get reoccuring themes going on here. Obviously my main point here is about clouds of negativity overhead, but there's that one shining beam breaking through. I really hope if you're reading this you're able to get some of the things i'm attempting to portray. extra emphasis on "attempting" sooooo yeah! enjoy!

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_**A HIRO'S TALE PT 3**_

The team was rushing. Even though Hiro was out of the water and now in the care of a team under an operation table the battle was not yet won. He felt them there, just barely conscious as the medical team around him worked against time. His breath shallow as a puddle. He opened his eyes slightly once more, dizzily, attempting to assess the situation at hand. Rushes of bright lights and people in white blurring across his vision every which way. It was too much to take in. His eyes rolled back into his head once more and he fell limp, his conscience fading against his will.

"SHIT! His heartbeat is fading! Get the defibrilator right now!" A voice shouted.

Hiro processed that last bit on the verge of passing out and his own conscience took over once more. He had felt this before. Was he dying again? He felt no control over his body as he heard a very long, clear and distinct beep.

His heart flatlined and a new battle for Hiro's life had sprung into action.

"GODDAMNIT HIRO DON'T YOU DIE ON ME!" The voice shouted, pressing the two metal plates together generating electricity .

"CLEAR!" The shout rang through the air as the doctor placed the plates against Hiro's bare chest. His body convulsed as the shock ran through. In just the slightest grip of consciousness hiro felt it, but still he was slipping further and further away.

"FUCK. RECHARGE THE SET! GIVE IT ONE MORE AND TURN IT UP TO 200 VOLTS!" The voice now wild in irritation.

"Don't you do it Hiro. Don't you fucking dare!" the voice cursed loudly, pleadingly.

"CLEAR!"

The electric plates rubbed once more generating an electric current. The plates pressed into Hiro's chest again, vigorous force applied as the shock bolted through Hiro's limp body once more. And there it was.

A lone beep on the EKG resounded sofly. And then another, and another and a slow, pitifully weak stream of heartbeats slowly pulsed on the display of the machine. It was weak, but it was still there. Within that single moment A wave of relief washed over the team. A few high fives were shared and in that joyous moment there shone a gleaming light of hope out of the darkness of the current circumstances, but all the positivity was just as quickly dispersed. This battle was not yet over. Not by a long shot. The doctor took a long deep breath in, exhaling thoughtfully closing his eyes. Eyes still closed his brow furrowed and he slowly opened his lids, his gaze resting on the barely alive boy before him. He broke his gaze from Hiro and sent one sweeping glance at his team meeting each of their eyes individually. As if telepathically, the message resounding was clear. Hiro Hamada must not die tonight.

For the next several hours the team worked tirelessly attempting to revive the young boy genius. As it were, Hiro had been underwater for nearly twenty minutes. Underneath ordinary circumstances Hiro's life would have been long gone and cast to the wind, but there was something mysterious about this case. Even the doctor thought it was strange himself. It was a miracle that Hiro was even able to breathe on his own. Or maybe...it wasn't. A miracle would indicate that the current situation had a minimal success rate if any at all. The doctor being a hard learned veteran of medicine had long ago abandoned his idealogy of things like God and angels and spirits. In fact, he laughed about it and slandered the thought, but there was no other way to explain it. Someone up above was watching after this child. As the doctor guided his team to the following procedures it was an enigma how clear his head was and the pace that he and his team were working at. As he raised a surgical knife to Hiro's back side in attempt to place a breathing tube into his lung he felt his hands move, weightlessly, uneffortlessly, as if his hands were being guided. He had no time to dwell on the thought and furrowed his brow in determination. He was going to save Hiro's life.

The doctor sat quietly in the break room, a marvelous open area with large bay windows to display the San Fransokyo before him. It was well after sunrise, the pink sun rising higher in the sky. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on the palette white table. A cigarette was lit and slowly burning in his other hand, the smoke whisping away on clever spools and streams and shrouding ever so slightly around his head. He brought the cancer to his lips and inhaled deeply, thoughtfully, relishing the harsh yet satisfying burn in his throat beholding the San Fransokyo sunrise over the multitude of buildings out to the bay. On the table laid a thick manilla folder. Neat numbers and codes decorated it and across the top read "Hamada, Hiro".

A medical record.

The doctor rose the cigarette once more to his lips simultaneously lifting his head off of his palm and opened the folder.

Condition: temporarily stable

Vital signs/heart beat: 33 Beats per minute

The doctors eyes glared at this number and he cursed.

"Thirty three beats per minute...Sweet mother of jesus..." He continued scanning the information in the folder.

Blood pressure:80/60

The doctor cursed again, louder this time. As it were, these numbers were apalling. Atrocious even. In the ideal healthy individual their heart would beat somewhere between fifty five to sixty beat per minute. The ideal healthy blood pressure would be ninety to one hundred twenty over sixty to eighty. It didn't take a doctor to know that if these numbers didn't rise, Hiro's body would eventually shut down. While Hiro was indeed somewhat stable after the hours of operation it took, this battle was proving to be a much longer one than anyone had anticipated. Unfortunately for the moment, all anyone could do was wait. The rest was up to Hiro.

The doctor closed the folder and tossed it to the far side of the table and dragged once more on his cigarette, his face rigid with stress. With his other hand he began to massage his fingers across his forehead. A key indication of his anticipation. Behind him a pair of footsteps gently stepped through the threshold into the break room. From behind it was easy to see the doctor was quite a mess.

"You alright Doc?"

Without even looking up the doctor sported a slight smile with a small huff. He sighed deep and breathed it out vocally.

"You should be more worried about the kid than me." The doctor said resting his cheek against his palm once more, his elbow propped back on the table. The footsteps stepped a little closer to the doctor and pulled a chair out from under the table and he sat down, long blonde hair slightly fluttering about his shoulders.

"Nah, Hiro's a strong kid. But his vitals are kinda..." His voice trailed off.

"Shitty?" The doctor interjected raising an eyebrow in the boys direction. The blonde boy smirked slightly in amusement.

"Yeah...pretty shitty..." His voice trailed off once more. He seldom cursed. Foul language left an arsenic after taste in his mouth.

"Say Fred..." The doctor started.

"Hmm?"

"How...How did you know where Hiro was at..? How did you know where in that entire ocean that boy had been..?" The doctor leveled Fred with a curious glare, smoke from his cigarette whisping about.

It wasn't as much of a mystery as it had seemed. In the early hours of the morning when Hiro had first jumped, Fred recalled back to when Tadashi had made his first major invention. BAYMAX the health companion. An artificial intelligence created in the concept of the preservation of human care and nurturment. Prior to Tadashi's tragedy, Tadashi had used BAYMAX to scan all of his closest friends in case of an imminent emergency. Fred, Gogo, Wasabi, Hiro, even Honey Lemon had found this precaution somewhat laughable as they were all blissfully unaware of their own mortality. In this case though it had proved immeasurably useful. After Tadashi's funeral, Fred was granted Tadashi's ipad filled with all the encrypted data and healthcare software regarding BAYMAX's healthcare system, including the emergency alerts as well as BAYMAX itself. Deep within the software a program was running still, monitoring all of the groups vitals and as Hiro's signs grew irregular and diminished, the software had sprung into action therefore activating BAYMAX into his alert mode. Fred recalled how BAYMAX had sprung from his box, sirens emanating from the robot and how they had startled him forcing him to fall out of his bed. He sat there in a jumbled mess of stuffed anime characters and teddy bears with his bed sheet strung across him as he tried to get a handle on the situation. Baymax scurried up to Fred.

"There is trouble. Hiro is in danger. We must go to him." BAYMAX said in his uncharacteristically emotional voice. Fred had no time to muster up an answer and simply replied with a blank stare and a "uhhh...?" Without further ado, BAYMAX picked up Fred bridal style and launched himself out of Freds large panel windows to the open water right outside of Fred's mansion. Engaging it's floatation gear BAYMAX turned into a buoy with a motor and raced out into the open water. Fred was freezing. The ocean off of San Fransokyo was cold enough in the day, but in the night it dropped at least fifteen degrees lower. As water slightly splashed against Fred's face he looked down at the ipad with an indication marker flashing by the second. A beacon. He recalled back to BAYMAX saying Hiro was in trouble and a hundred questions raced through Fred's head. Trouble? Hiro? What? How? Nothing seemed to make sense, but one thing was for sure. Hiro needed help.

BAYMAX bustled towards the coordinates the signaled to his hard drive that simultaneously lit up on the display.

"Hiro's vitals are dimming. We must hurry. I have alerted the local authorities. They shall arrive momentarily, but we must stabilize Hiro first."

This stream of information worried Fred. He gripped onto BAYMAX hard and gulped, a grimace stretched across his face. Fred being such an easy going guy it was strange to see him so serious, but the situation was dire. Suddenly BAYMAX killed his motors and came to a halt.

"Hiro is directly beneath us approximately twenty feet. Fred you must dive down to rescue him. My body is comprised of air and vinyl. It was impossible for me to breach the surface of the water." Fred looked horrified. One because Fred wasn't much of a swimmer. Two because twenty feet down is quite deep. Fred rarely ventured any further than the shallow end of his own pool. Three because Hiro's life was hanging by a thread. Under different circumstances Fred would hesitate, but he had already lost one friend recently and he wasn't about to lose another. He looked down into the water but was crestfallen. The water was pitch black all around him. As if psychically, BAYMAX illuminated, casting a large wave of light down into the depths of the water. Multiple fish caught in the light scurried away and Fred glanced around. And there he was. Just as BAYMAX called it, Hiro was floating there several feet below, drifting freely. The sight of that alone set Fred's body ablaze and without a second thought, he took a large breath in and plunged down. The temperature of the water was not enough to dampen his resolve or dim the fire roaring in his gut. He stroked down, growing closer to Hiro with each sweep of his arm. Without even taking into account his surroundings he finally was just mere feet from Hiro. But there was something...

Suddenly a wave of sheer terror washed over Fred. He looked slightly to his right and noticed a dim silhouette against the light of BAYMAX shining above. His heart pounded hard in his chest as the silhouette grew clearer, swimming closer to Fred and Hiro. It was blurry at first but then...a fin. A lone sharp fin atop the silhouette pointed like an enormously large dinosaur tooth, and then behind it a fin swaying idly from left to right. Fred's heart was beating faster now, just on the verge pumping out of his chest. It was yards away, pointed body, hydrodynamically designed...a predator. A perfect killing machine. It turned broadside and Fred's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. It was enormous. At least fifteen feet long, sharp teeth protruding from the mouth in every direction like jagged steak knives. It circled menacingly. Slowly. Stalking like a lion hiding in the brush hungrily eyeing a fawn. It was survival of the fittest, and Fred and Hiro were sitting ducks. Limited air supply, and the moment Fred attempted to grab Hiro and race for the surface he knew the creature would strike. It dipped a fin into the stream of light from above and retreated back slightly, as if strategically striking fear into Fred. There had been stories of attacks in the ocean but Fred had never truly believed it. Shark attacks, yet this was no ordinary shark. Scales almost is impenetrable as chainmail, fins sharp enough to cut diamonds and gnarly teeth that could cut out pieces of concrete. This was gargantuan. A behemoth, and against this perfect specimen of evolutionary design there was nothing Fred could do. Fred grabbed onto Hiro and wrapped an arm around his shoulder pulling him close and gazed at him, feeling the tug of his lungs as they softly begged for an exchange of air. Hiro looked so peaceful, as if not a care in the world. As if he was far away in a deep slumber. It was tragic...Fred had failed. First Tadashi, and now Hiro. Never had Fred openly admitted to supplying Tadashi with the heroine that would eventually lead to his demise, but he had always felt Tadashi's blood on his hands, and no matter how hard he scrubbed it remained there. No one else had known of the exchanges but Fred was forever guilty. Forever in his conscience was a small voice muttering a single world. Murderer. He'd had nightmares on a nightly basis reliving the gory mess of Tadashi's death. The pictures of the autopsy he had seen from the San Fransokyo Police Department forever burned into his mind with vivid detail. And they remained. Not only did he feel the guilt of this, but now it was renewed. Stronger this time. He owed it to Tadashi to take care of Hiro, if anything, it was Fred's self appointed responsibility. Oh, how he had failed miserably. Epically. There was a pang in his heart, and had it not been for the surrounding water, Fred's eyes would be watering in remorseful tears. He looked down at Hiro's face once more, grief stricken, any shining chance of hope now cast to the wind. In his periphery he saw the shark, now fully illuminated still circling around menacingly. Fred closed his eyes and pulled Hiro in tight, holding him, awaiting his impending doom. The shark lurched forward, pointed straight at Fred and Hiro like a torpedo. Game over.

And in the midst of doom there shone a ray of hope once more. Considering the large size and speed capable of the shark, moments had . Fred would've thought he'd be getting ripped to shreds by now. As Fred's eyes remained shut he felt the water ripple on either side of him, above him, and below him as if the water had roared to life. And in the darkness behind his eye lids he heard something, a very distinct clicking and mewing. Hesitantly he squeamishly opened his eye, and then his other and was in disbelief. In front of him just before his very eyes a battle was unfolding. Like bullets the flew fast and ferociously ripping through the water. One, and then another, and then one more speeding through the water at insane speeds colliding with the shark head on.

Dolphins.

They ganged upon the gargantuan unfearfully, and in that moment, Fred felt the rage of the beasts protecting his life. He looked behind him and saw one more dolphin swimming up to him in a hurry. It halted mere inches away and faced its back to Hiro and Fred as if inviting them on. It was Fred's chance at redemption. Without another thought he grapped on tightly to the dorsal fin of the dolphin and felt the water rush against him as they sped towards the surface, he looked back down at the battle and saw the shark fleeing away into the darkness, the other four dolphins in tow. Fred's oxygen was running excrutiatingly low and he struggled to hold back the urge to breathe. Closer to the surface now Fred felt a warm tug at his heart. They were safe. The dolphin broke the surface of the water and Fred gasped breathing in large swaths of air in attempt to catch his breath. Without thinking, Fred propped Hiro up onto the back of the dophin and shimmied back on top of BAYMAX. BAYMAX curiously looked back to analyze the situation at hand.

"Hiro's vitals are almost unreadable. He must receive mouth to mouth resuscitation before I can aid him. His body temperature is quite low as well. He must be warmed up."

The dolphins chirped as Fred pulled Hiro onto BAYMAX to get him out of the water. Everything had happened in such a rush that Fred was almost in shock himself. He flipped Hiro onto his back and tilted his chin up with his index and middle finger and pinched Hiro's nose shut with his other hand. He breathed in deeply, now that air was available, and exhaled deeply into Hiro's mouth. Vigor encasing his breaths, Fred breathed violently into Hiro and began pumping his hands hard against Hiro's rib cage. Once, and then again he repeated the cycle.

"Come on Hiro, don't you quit on me." Fred said pleadingly. After a close run in with death he was not prepared to let Hiro go.

"COME ON!" He breathed once more into Hiro and was startled as a large splurt of water escaped from Hiro's lips. He felt a sensation of joy wash over him.

"YES! THANK YOU GOD! YES HIRO THAT'S IT!" Fred paraded. He rolled Hiro onto his side as Hiro continued to convulse and spit up water, the color of life slowly returning to his skin. Just moments later the sound of a helicopter reverbed over head. Fred looked up and around against the night sky and saw in the distance a spotlight shining, scanning to and fro all over the ocean surface. Fred fell back onto his buttom and sighed once deeply. He looked down at Hiro, reassured in the shallow rise and fall of his breaths. He wasn't a failure. He did it...He succeeded. He saved Hiro's life for the time being. The dolphins nearby chirped once more gaining Fred's attention and they swam away. He smiled to himself.

"Thank you..."

If not for the dolphins Fred knew he and Hiro would have been fish food, nothing in the world could ever gain such praise and thanks from Fred. Him being alive was a true testament to the power of hope. In one sense, Fred was thankful to the dolphins. In another sense, Fred had known that it was because of something much greater. In the distance he heard the clicking and cawing of the dolphins and saw them fly from the water. It was amazing. One jumped and two followed, and they repeated in pattern until they were out of sight. If he hadn't known before, then Fred had definitely known now. He recalled a random fact from out of the recesses of his mind and smiled. Dolphins had always been Tadashi's favorite animal.

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WHEW! that one was a doozy. If you guys get a chance please review, let me know what you think. what you hated, what you liked. WHATEVER! maybe remind me how cliche the shark scene was lol. But anyways, thank you for all the support so far. Until next time! Corporal Douglas signing off


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